For nearly 20 years, I’ve been an elementary teacher, helping students discover the power of stories, curiosity, and imagination. Somewhere along the way, I realized those same things were helping me rediscover myself too.

What started as sharing books online slowly became something much bigger.

Now, Keep Reading Kristen is a mix of:

• books and author interviews
• LitRPG and fantasy fandom
• K-pop concert adventures
• convention chaos
• travel stories
• bookstores around the world
• creative community
• and the ongoing process of figuring out what it means to build a larger, more joyful life after 50.

You’ll find me interviewing authors through the Ascension Protocol book club, planning international trips around concerts and conventions, overpacking for Japan, creating ridiculous fandom achievement cards, chasing stories across cities, and probably buying more books than I have shelf space for.

Around here, we believe:

• you are never too old to reinvent yourself
• joy is not embarrassing
• fandom is community
• books change people
• adventure does not have an expiration date

Whether you’re here for fantasy books, travel chaos, BookTok recommendations, convention prep, K-pop adventures, or your own reinvention era, I’m glad you found your way here.

So grab a book, book a flight, say yes to the weird adventure, and keep reading.

— Kristen